Cement giants put up bulk of shares for auction

Published:
05 January 2006

State-owned cement giants Bim Son and But Son will auction tens of millions of shares in preparation for their conversion into shareholding concerns.

Bim Son will offer 18 million shares and But Son 22m. The reserve price for both is VND11,000 compared to a par value of VND10,000. The deadline for registration of Bim Son shares is January 13 and that for But Son shares is today.

The Bim Son share auction is set for January 20 at both HCMC and Hanoi securities trading centers, and that of But Son January 11 at the Hanoi center only.

When they go public, Bim Son will have equities of VND900bn (US$57m) and But Son VND1 trillion plus, with the State to hold a stake of 72.85% and 78.7% respectively, outside investors 20% and staff the remainder.

Headquartered in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, Bim Son has eight branches in the country and a representative office in Laos. Its main product, PCB30 cement, makes up more than 85% of its total annual sales.

But Son in the northern province of Ha Nam has three branches and, like Bim Son, its packaged cement contributes most to its sales. Its main local markets are Hanoi and nearby provinces, contributing 93% of its sales.

In 2004, Bim Son reported total sales of VND1.56 trillion and a pre-tax profit of VND84.5bn, whereas But Son obtained total revenue of VND980bn and a profit of more than VND75bn.

Figures in Bim Son’s prospectus show that all cement plants in the country are now able to annually produce 22Mt of cement and 14.4Mt of clinker.

Both Bim Son and But Son have forecast cement demand will rise 10% to 15% in the next five years and the exact figure for this year alone will total 32.6Mt this year. However, the former puts total output at 24.6Mt and the latter 25.8Mt.